SUPER CUP FINAL PREVIEW: Real Madrid v FC Barcelona

Real Madrid beat Valencia on penalties on Wednesday. And then FC Barcelona also needed a shootout to beat Real Betis on Thursday. It means that when the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia opens its doors for the third time this week, on Sunday at 8pm CET, it will be for a huge showdown for the first piece of major silverware of the Spanish football season. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a Clásico on our hands, and only one of the two teams will be flying home with the important item of all in their luggage - the Spanish Super Cup trophy!

If Barça do win, it will be the first ever major trophy of the Xavi Hernández era. And hopefully, just the first of many more to come!

How they got here

Barça qualified after a real thriller, in which goals by Lewandowski and Ansu Fati were both cancelled out by the Andalusians. After making some top saves during the game, Ter Stegen then became the absolute hero of the night by stopping two of the Betis penalties to earn his team a place in the final.

Real Madrid, the day before, had taken the lead thanks to a Karim Benzema penalty, but Samuel Limo hit back for Valencia just after the break and with no further score that game also had to be decided in a shootout.

Team news

Xavi has taken 24 players on the trip, although two names will have to be dropped from the definitive squad for the game. The players he has to choose from are: Ter Stegen, Bellerín, Araujo, Sergio, Dembélé, Pedri, Lewandowski, Ansu Fati, Ferran, Iñaki Peña, Memphis, Christensen, Marcos Alonso, Jordi Alba, Kessie, S. Roberto, De Jong, Raphinha, Kounde, Eric, Balde, Gavi, Pablo Torre and Arnau Tenas.

Barça have no major injury concerns, but Madrid lost Lucas Vázquez to injury in the semi-final, while Tchouameni and David Alaba both sat out that game and there are questions marks over their fitness for the final as well.

Head to head

Barça do not have a pretty record in previous Super Cup Final clashes with the 'old enemy'. Seven times they have met in the decider, and on a frustrating six of those occasions, it has been the all-whites who emerged victorious.

Barça also need to use this game to correct their recent form against Real Madrid. Fresh in the memory is the fabulous 4-0 win at the Bernabéu last season, but in all competitions, that is the only one of the last eight Clásico encounters that Barça has won.

In the league earlier this season, Real Madrid continued their good form in this fixture by winning 3-1.

Form guide

When club football resumed after the World Cup, Barça were two points clear of Real Madrid in La Liga. The 1-1 draw with Espanyol changed that, for it left the two runaway leaders matched on points.

But there were new developments last week. Barça, of course, collected a fantastic three points from their visit to Atlético Madrid, but Real were beaten away to Villarreal. That's means Barça are now three points clear, and although victory in today's game would mean nothing to the Liga campaign, it would be a huge injection of blaugrana morale!

Xavi says

"We have to win this final. When I was a player I felt the same pressure as now because we are Barça and that never changes. We will try to be at our best. Now we are in the final our goal is to win the trophy and bring it back to Barcelona."

"I can see a strong Real Madrid side and they have a psychological advantage as they have more experience in finals. We have to show our ambition and our desire, at last, to win a trophy."

Jordi Alba also had plenty to say about Sunday's big game...

And captain Sergio Busquets was the Barça representative at the official pre-game press conference: